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IACHR
Press Release
OAS General Assembly Elects Commissioners
June 7, 2013
Antigua, Guatemala – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights informs the result of the election of Commissioners that took place June 6, 2013, at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Antigua, Guatemala. Commissioner Jose de Jesus Orozco Henriquez, from Mexico, current Chair of the IACHR, was reelected. In addition, James L. Cavallaro, from the United States of America, and Paulo De Tarso Vannuchi, from Brazil, were elected. The period for which they were elected starts on January 1, 2014, and ends December 31, 2017.
The current members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, in addition to Jose de Jesus Orozco Henriquez, are Tracy Robinson, from Jamaica, who is currently the First Vice Chair; Rosa María Ortiz, from Paraguay, who is the Second Vice Chair; Felipe González, from Chile; Dinah Shelton, from the United States of America; Rodrigo Escobar Gil, from Colombia; and Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, who has dual citizenship from Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago. The period for which Commissioners Dinah Shelton and Rodrigo Escobar Gil were elected will end on December 31, 2013. The Executive Secretary is Emilio Álvarez Icaza L.
According to the American Convention on Human Rights, the Commission is composed of seven members, who must be persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights, elected in a personal capacity by the OAS General Assembly from a list of candidates proposed by the governments of the Member States. The members of the Commission are elected for a four-year term and may be reelected only once.
Every OAS Member State is part of the Inter-American System of Human Rights. ON the basis of the OAS Charter and the American Declaration, the IACHR observes the situation of human rights in every Member State of the Organization, and receives, analyzes and investigates individual petitions alleging violations of human rights in such countries, among other functions.
A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
No. 41/13